Chapter 190
Chapter 190
It was only natural to assume that the new idol group selected through Season 4 of Idol Inc. would come to this agency.
However, the current situation had become quite interesting.
‘I naturally thought they’d hire new dedicated staff for that side.’
TeSTAR was only in its second year, yet they were pulling people from here? And for a group that hadn't even properly proven their worth yet.
“Oh~ So we’re getting juniors! Ah, but are you moving our staff there instead of hiring new ones? Gosh, isn't that going to make everyone way too busy?”
“We’re hiring new people too! But it looks like they want to distribute some experienced staff. Don't worry, I'm not going~ I'm sending the second manager!”
“Haha~”
Keun Se-jin laughed brightly at the manager’s joke-like remark, but having experienced both large and small agencies, he must have grasped the general atmosphere.
‘The General Manager has chosen the junior group over TeSTAR.’
To be precise, he was fed up with TeSTAR’s fans.
From the General Manager’s perspective, two of his predecessors had already been replaced in short order, and it was easy for him to feel that the fans were viciously angry over every little thing.
In fact, TeSTAR’s fans already viewed the agency with deep suspicion.
‘On top of that, even the members seem to be against his vision.’
I’m talking about that damn American obsession.
Since the new group would have a solid fandom formed through the grueling Idol Inc. survival show, it wasn't strange for him to shift core personnel there and dream of a new vision.
“Our company’s performance has been great lately~ Better people will join us, so don’t worry too much!”
“Yes, sir!”
What did I think?
‘It’s a total win.’
It was actually great. The company wouldn't want to create more fruitless friction with the fans, so they’d still provide proper care.
In that case, this situation—where the General Manager didn't interfere and we could just draw in capital investment—was the best-case scenario. We could handle the planning ourselves anyway.
‘Is this the second coming of the Approval Bot?’
However, there was one thing that bothered me. The risk factor that at some point, they might stop investing properly in new albums and just try to run us ragged on tours.
‘Being treated as a cash cow.’
If he checked the profits even right after this tour, there was a high probability his eyes would roll back at the scale of the revenue. It would be troublesome if he decided to just squeeze money out of TeSTAR since he had another option to nurture.
So, what was the solution?
It was simple.
‘I just have to make it so he can’t give up on capital investment for TeSTAR.’
Three and a half years left until the contract ended. During that time, we just had to maintain a steady growth trend.
I had to appeal to both the economic side—‘We can grow even bigger and expand the tour scale’—and his vanity—‘The singers under me have become this incredible.’
‘Looking at this General Manager’s personality, he’ll never be able to give up on that.’
Therefore, the public atmosphere surrounding TeSTAR during this tour was crucial. This was our first long hiatus from domestic activities. We had to manage our buzz beyond just showing our faces at award ceremonies.
But with an already packed schedule, we couldn't add more domestic activities.
Then there was only one answer.
‘I’ll have to make the reality show better than planned.’
I would increase the scale of the already scheduled content.
‘I should take a more active role.’
It was the first time I’d made such a resolution since Idol Inc. Let’s set up the content and characters to be a bit more provocative.
“Are we going to see our juniors??”
“It’ll be difficult for now.”
I heard Ryu Cheong-woo answering Cha Yu-jin nearby.
And he was right. Our flight for the tour was tomorrow.
Following the highly acclaimed Seoul concert, TeSTAR immediately departed for the United States.
The plan was to go to nearby Japan during the award season in January so they could easily travel back and forth, and to handle the US leg now, as it was smaller in scale and would end quickly.
Meanwhile, fans who had exhausted all the content from the concert were left twiddling their thumbs.
It was around that time that the final episode of Idol Inc. Season 4, which had used TeSTAR’s concert for clout, was aired.
[Controversial and Much-Hyped 〈Re-listing! Idol Inc. 2〉… Does it end on a high note?]
[〈Idol Inc.〉 Season 4 Debut Name ‘Mirinae’ Finally Confirmed]
[〈Idol Inc.〉 New Season Winners to be Under the Same Roof as TeSTAR?]
Due to the sharp reactions from TeSTAR fans, Tnet had subtly backed off, and the TeSTAR concert only appeared briefly with a nuance of praising the event itself.
But even without that issue, Idol Inc. Season 4 failed to clear up numerous rumors. Because TeSTAR’s Season 3 had been so successful, the show was constantly compared to it, leading them to bring out more provocative setups every time.
The program's image was at its worst due to criticisms of it being excessively sadistic, squeezing the dreams and hopes out of the trainees, and testimonies from participants who dropped out midway.
Thus, regardless of the program's success, a sense of unease regarding the group launching through this season was latently present among the public.
Naturally, TeSTAR’s fans didn't want to be deeply associated with them either. This was especially true since the group was in the middle of building its own unique image and worldview after their debut.
Still, aside from a few feeler articles, the agency hadn't done anything particularly reckless, so the animosity wasn't strong yet. More than that, there were far more fans on edge, waiting for any scrap of news about TeSTAR.
Except for year-end network programs and one major award ceremony, TeSTAR was out of Korea for the entire month of December.
Furthermore, other than a short W Live for Park Moon-dae’s birthday, there was no news except for tour updates. There was no news about self-produced content either. Even the concert behind-the-scenes weren't being uploaded, perhaps saved for the VOD.
Naturally, people began to worry prematurely. It was a deduction based on their past experiences as K-POP fans.
Some people even went this far:
In reality, it hadn't even been a month or two since TeSTAR last provided news, so it was far too early for such talk.
The problem was that TeSTAR had been working like oxen without rest, pouring out news every single day. Since the constant stream of updates through SNS and videos—which continued even during their vacations—had suddenly stopped, people were shaken by even this brief silence.
Still, thanks to their appearances on year-end programs, it wasn't as if there was no content at all, so these voices were treated as minor complaints throughout December.
And on the last day of December, while fans were feeling regretful as TeSTAR appeared on the MBS Music Festival via pre-recording...
A notification popped up on TeSTAR’s official WeTube channel.
Ding.
[(Trailer) Happy New Year! TeSTAR’s New Reality Show to Ring in the New Year!]
The thumbnail showed the silhouettes of seven figures sitting on a beach.
‘Ah, finally!’
‘Right, they should at least give us a reality show during the hiatus!’
‘Since they’re on tour, it’ll probably just be some wholesome but boring documentary, but that’s fine! It’s content!’
Relieved by the New Year’s gift, fans quickly clicked the thumbnail.
And they were quite taken aback by the content that played.
‘…??’
First of all… out of nowhere, grand brass instruments and a vocalist’s high notes blasted out.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Ba-ba-ba-bam!!
[Ugh!]
[Ack!]
[Whoa,]
[Oops!!]
[Ugh!]
To that rhythm, scenes of TeSTAR members screaming and groaning flashed by.
[……]
And finally, a long shot of Bae Se-jin, completely frozen with his hands up. Right below him, an ice cream cone lay shattered on the ground.
Leaving behind the confused real-time reactions, the video suddenly turned calm. A peaceful scene of TeSTAR being interviewed followed. The question was simple.
[Have you ever had a part-time job?]
[Lee Se-jin: Yes!]
[Cheong-woo: Just helping out at my parents' shop?]
[Bae Se-jin: …No. (Nervous) Why, why do you ask?]
White text appeared on a black screen.
[Just because. Ha]
Then the scene shifted again. The production crew shouted to TeSTAR, who were fully dressed for their business trip and holding suitcases.
[Everyone! Are you ready to film the reality show? This time, the theme is a free trip!]
[Lee Se-jin: Whoa!!]
[Seon A-hyun: Really?]
[Of course! Go wherever you want!]
Then, heartwarming cuts of TeSTAR spending happy moments in groups of two or three, or as a whole group, at exotic beaches or restaurants flashed by.
Along with this red caption:
[※ Expenses will be charged. ※]
Again, white text appeared ominously on a black screen.
[Will TeSTAR… be able to earn enough money to go play safely?!]
[Yu-jin: I want to go home.]
[Moon-dae: Please, let’s just go….]
Park Moon-dae and Cha Yu-jin appeared looking despondent and hilarious, with Moon-dae covering his eyes with both hands.
[TeSTAR’s Reality Show-Show-Show]
[Idol Working Holiday]
[Episode 1 released on Thursday, January 9th!]
Naturally, it was the taste of a full-blown variety show that even the fans hadn't expected.
“So, today’s sales finally exceeded a thousand dollars, so I think we can go to the theme park tomorrow without any debt.”
“Whoa!!”
Applause erupted around us. The members stretched with proud faces and exchanged high-fives.
“D-do you want to drink this?”
“Thanks.”
I gulped down the plum juice Seon A-hyun poured for me. I felt quite proud.
‘Everyone did work hard.’
If we kept this up, we’d be able to travel smoothly without debt… Wait.
“…….”
‘This… doesn't feel like a variety show anymore…?’
Everyone was too immersed.
Realizing that the filming site had suddenly become a place where everyone was dead serious about debt liquidation rather than having fun, I broke into a cold sweat.
‘How do I save this?’
This wouldn't do.
I’d have to encourage them to squander their money.